Sara Baras (Saint Ferdinand, 1971) will fill a stage with feeling, the Roman theater of Medellín, already magical, with its show ‘Alma’ and will do so this Saturday within the Metellinum Festival (ten o’clock at night). Together with the company of the dancer and choreographer and some very special collaborators, the theater will be involved in a night in which well-known bolero melodies and flamenco styles will merge in a tribute by the artist from Cádiz to her own father, “a in love with bolero”, he explains. With ‘Alma’, “there are no sad moments, although there are profound ones”, she emphasizes.
What makes ‘Alma’ such a magical show?
I think the same energy. It is giving the soul and being able to share it. It makes there a beautiful magic.
Who will act?
Alma is a fusion between well-known bolero melodies and very traditional flamenco styles. The music is directed by Keko Baldomero and there are seven live musicians who are seven great artists. In the voices is Rubio de Pruna and Matías López; Diego Villegas on the ropes; on percussion Antón Suárez and Manuel Muñoz ‘El Pajaro’, who are also wonderful; on guitar is Andrés Martínez and Keko Baldomero. There is a boy who dances wonderfully well, Daniel Saltares, and five girls who are five angels to me. And between all of us live we mix it with the playback for which we have the collaboration of Juana la del Pipa, Israel Fernández and Rancapino Chico. And the special collaboration of Alex Romero on the piano doing a version of ‘Vete de mí’. Among all is soul, energy and everything positive. There are no sad moments although there are deep moments.
What makes these bolero versions more special?
The reason for this show is really a tribute to my father, a lover of boleros. Merging it with flamenco isn’t the first time it’s been done, but in this way it is. Being able to interpret the flamenco style together with a melody or bolero lyrics is something different. And being able to dance it, the choreographic part. Also being able to unite these two registers is something very special. Honestly I think I always have some to do. I would love to do more, what happens is that the show has to last as long as it has to last. There are so many beautiful melodies and so many flamenco styles that I would also like to interpret that I wonder if the show could have a second part, a third part, etc. (laughs).
“Flamenco is an art that penetrates directly into the heart and does not understand passports”
The ‘little pinch’ comes from the fact that it is a tribute to your father, you have also been under the influence of your mother, were you always clear that you would be a bailaora?
The truth is that if. I started dancing as a child and it’s something I didn’t even consider. I don’t know life without dancing. I always thought I was going to dance, what I never imagined is that I could go so far. Nor that my dreams of being able to have a company like the one I have and of being able to travel halfway around the world with it could be fulfilled.
Not everyone gets awards as prestigious as the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, what does this mean for you and your company?
It is a pride to be able to receive important awards. They remind you again that you are on the way and that all the effort is worth it. My company is a private company and is held from the public. I never have enough words to thank the public, which is what makes it possible for us to continue dreaming and making people dream. We have been with the company for 25 years, the journey is quite extensive. The prizes fill you with enthusiasm and desire. Of course, I share them with all the people who have helped me and with the wonderful public that supports us from the beginning.
There are 25 years in which the company has also survived a pandemic. How has the return to the stage been after a quarantine in which ‘Alma’ was brewing?
Leaving out of course all the people who have suffered, who have had a very bad time, for us there have been very beautiful moments and that has been one of them. Meeting again, going up on stage, leaving us one hundred percent of who we are. The whole team is fantastic, they give everything they have on a daily basis. Returning to the stage has been beautiful. I think that with the public as well, because feeling its warmth again has been a gift of bestial life. We had it all, especially sharing. It seems that after the pandemic we have given more courage to hug each other, to be together, to be able to add energy with everyone like a pineapple and that has been precious.
How would you encourage people to go to that show on a stage as beautiful as the Roman Theater in Medellín?
The truth is that they are special places. I would tell them that there are about two hours in which you let yourself be carried away by this beautiful magic that flamenco has and, in this case, also bolero. Enjoy the beauty, the color, the space, to feel that energy. We already know that the space is very magical, I have been lucky enough to dance there at the Roman Theater in Medellín and it is a very special place. So whoever wants to go will have two hours of nice things. I am willing to dance to him and we are willing to give them our heart, soul or whatever it takes.
“We don’t know how to interpret emotion, we know how to feel it”
Two hours of goosebumps, I imagine… It will be beautiful live.
We often say that we do not know how to interpret emotion, we know how to feel it. That is why it is transmitted and the truth is that they are very special places and we are already willing to look for that duende and that magic. Therefore, I think he is very pretty. Well, of course, I like it a lot (laughs).
He commented before that he never thought he would travel and get on such important national and international stages. Throughout her career, which one does she remember with the most special affection?
The truth is that I have many, I could not name one. But yes, there are theaters that I have dreamed of knowing about and I didn’t think I was going to enter through the artist’s door and go up on stage. That’s wonderful and I can say cities and theaters that I didn’t even dream of. For example the one in Sydney, the Opera House in Australia, in London, in New York, in Paris… We have performed all over the world. We have had the luck of doing a bestial tour and the public is nailed to you. There are places where you think that maybe it will be colder or they won’t understand you, but not at all. Flamenco is an art that strikes directly into the heart and does not understand passports. It has no tongue. That on tour is wonderful.
So, there is a good acceptance of flamenco in those countries.
The value of considering flamenco as a great art is thanks to artists like Paco de Lucía, Carmen Amaya, Enrique Morente, Camarón, etc. All of them have opened the door to the world for us. They have made flamenco a highly valued art. They have precious respect for him in half the world and that fills you with pride. We are in festivals of music, dance, theater… Festivals that are known worldwide and there is always a day dedicated to flamenco. It’s something amazing.
“Helping is not an obligation but a privilege and whoever can do it, should do it”
You are a very complete and supportive artist, why is it important that influential people like you show your humanitarian work?
In my dance there is a before and after when I discover that I can help people who need it. I am the godmother of the ‘Mi Princesa Rett’ Foundation, which is precisely from Badajoz, and doing your bit to help changes you. I think it’s super important that we all be aware that we can all help. Helping is not an obligation but a privilege and whoever can do it, must do it. I sincerely have total admiration for all those parents who fight for their children and who have a life full of dedication, of love, of fighting to help them with this type of illness. I talk about Rett syndrome disease mainly because it is the one I am closest to. I also collaborate with all kinds of associations, foundations and similar solidarity projects because it seems very important to me.